Motion
by Lizwontcry
Summary: Leonard asks Penny to take care of Sheldon for the summer while he's gone, and after spending so much time together, Sheldon and Penny's friendship is tested, questioned, and strengthened. But something surprising is happening and they can't ignore it forever.
1. Prologue-Chapter 1

**A/N - Hi, friends. This has been in my head ever since the finale and I finally had to get it out. I'm not sure how many chapters there will be or how often I'll be updating, but it's going to happen and I hope you will dig it. As always I appreciate all feedback, good and bad, and I would like to thank my faithful beta Samantha. Thank you so much for reading, and rock on. **

* * *

_Late August_

It's a blistering hot day in August and all they want to do is sit inside with the air conditioner on and ignore everything else going on in the world. They are, as usual, marathoning Doctor Who on the TV for background noise, but they're not paying attention to it. And anyway, Penny spent most of the summer getting an education on the show. At first she resisted, but Sheldon was patient and persistent. He wanted her to appreciate it as much as he did. And eventually, she couldn't get enough. It was just one of the many things they're sharing during the summer Leonard is far, far away.

Penny is flipping through Cosmo, glancing at the sex tips and soaking up the juicy gossip about Kim**, **Kanye and North West (really, who names their kid after _a direction?) _and drinking some wine. Sheldon is reading the new Walking Dead comic book. Sheldon's in his spot, Penny is curled up next to him in her "spot" that she has claimed over the years, even though Amy sits there now more often than not. Her head is resting on his shoulder. They are perfectly content; they don't even realize that just a few months ago, they would have considered this all very weird. But since Leonard was gone and she only heard from him maybe once a week, and since Amy had gotten involved in a new project at work (not related in any way with monkeys) and Sheldon barely saw her anymore, the two of them have been spending an awful lot of time together. At first Penny was annoyed with Sheldon's constant neediness, but after a while, she found herself enjoying taking care of him, just like Leonard asked. Sheldon was always so appreciative of everything she did for him. Not that he always thanked her out loud-he rarely did. But she saw it in his eyes. In the way he seemed to get so much joy out of teaching her new thingsand the sense of accomplishment she felt when she understood and saw that he was clearly proud of her. Even if he never said the words, "Thank you, Penny." And lately his (constant) questions are starting to get a little more personal than she expects from him. But that's a story for another time.

"Okay, switch," Penny says when she's done reading Cosmo. Sheldon rolls his eyes.

"Must I read this dreck that you insist on forcing upon me? I can already feel my brain cells dying and I haven't even started to read it yet. Like that romance novel you made me read last week, and both the first and second Miss Congeniality movies you made me watch."

"Come on, you know the deal. I read all that Stephen Hawking stuff, and learned all about the Higgs Boson and what you're doing with it, and I've watched so much Doctor Who and all the Star Wars movies in Blu-ray, and I feel like you can learn a lot from this magazine! And come on, you know Sandra Bullock is hot."

Sheldon just shakes his head, not wanting to dignify that with an answer.

"And, like, if Amy asks you to paint her toenails, after reading this Cosmo you'll totally know what color is in fashion."

Sheldon stares at her, his face recoiling in horror. She can't help it-she giggles. The thought of Sheldon painting Amy's toenails is basically the most ridiculous thing she can ever picture, which just makes her giggle more. Soon she's having a complete giggle fit, and Sheldon even cracks a smile at her humorous display. He begrudgingly takes the magazine from her and starts reading. Penny is happy; now she finally gets to read the issue of the Walking Dead he's been trying so hard to hide from her ever since she took him to the comic book store a week ago. It's just another thing they share now.

Penny tries to concentrate on the comic book, but not for the first time, she glances at his profile. Lately she's been wondering what would happen if she maybe nipped his ear a little bit. Or stole a tiny kiss on the lips when he was least expecting it. The most disconcerting feeling, though, was how badly she wanted to slip her hand in his and just sit there like an old married couple, enjoying each other's company and the solitude of just being together. And then she'd shake it off, because she loves Leonard and Sheldon is just his weird roommate that she's had to spend a lot of time with over the summer. Once Leonard gets back in a week or so, things will get back to normal. They just_have_ to.

Sheldon is trying to read Cosmo even though it's almost like the greatest torture he's ever known; but she asked and he wants to please her. He doesn't even know why he wants to please her, he just does. Maybe because she smells so lovely this particular evening. Even though he's always known that Penny has a pleasant scent, lately it's been lingering even when she's not there. He's not familiar with this feeling and doesn't really know what to do with it. So as usual, he ignores the whole thing.

Eventually the comic book and the Cosmo fall to the floor and Sheldon and Penny fall asleep to the comforting sound of the air conditioner. Her head is still on his shoulder, his arm is draped across her lap, and that's when the door opens and Leonard and Amy come strolling in, ready to reveal their surprise, the secret they've keep between the two of them for a few days now. Leonard hopes Penny will be happy to see him-they've had some friction ever since she happened to glance at his Facebook wall and see post after post from some Layla chick he was on the boat with-but he believes they can get past that. They're soul mates. They can get past anything, right?

Instead he sees his girlfriend basically on top of his roommate. For a moment, he and Amy look at each other and he knows her first instinct is jealousy, too. They can't help it; they're human beings, after all. But he knows Penny just kind of falls wherever she lands when she's tired, and Sheldon's probably been working a lot of late hours lately, and he understands. Or at least tries to. Amy seems to have been able to figure out the reasoning as well, because she clears her throat and says loudly, "Look who I found!"

Sheldon and Penny snap to attention. Penny wipes the sleep drool off her face. Once she is able to focus, she sees her long missing boyfriend standing in front of her. And finally, she shrieks and jumps up and into his arms. They share a long, weird, tension-filled kiss. Amy looks proud of herself. Penny pastes on a smile and says, "What a nice surprise! I wasn't expecting you for another week!"

Leonard wants to stop talking and sweep her up and take her across the hall and into the bed, but he figures an explanation would be nice, too. Sometimes he still had to remind himself their relationship was based on more than a physical connection. It was, right? "We finished our work early, and I wanted to surprise you. So I emailed Amy a few days ago and she agreed that it would be fun to show up unannounced."

"Of course! Oh, I want to hear all about your trip. Why don't you unpack and stuff and I'll freshen up and you can come over and tell me all about it?"

"Sounds amazing," Leonard says, and kisses her again. Penny tries as hard as she can to match the passion in his kiss, but it's completely obvious to everyone in the room, even Sheldon, that something is different and may always be different. Penny hopes that after a day or two, everything will go back to normal. Because she's not the kind of girl who can just go through the motions.

Sheldon watches as Penny and Leonard unhook themselves from each other. Leonard wheels his suitcase into his room. Amy and Penny giggle about something, probably some inane girl stuff he has no inclination to care about. As Penny opens the door to leave, her eyes meet Sheldon's. He doesn't know a lot about sarcasm or feelings or emotions, that much is true, but he knows Penny. He knows there's an interesting kind of wistfulness in her eyes. And as the door closes, he knows the nature of his relationship with Penny will be different now. After all the time he spent with her this summer, teaching her about the things he loved and wanted her to love, too (like Doctor Who)**,** laughing with her**,** and talking for hours about their similar childhood in small towns while eating countless pizzas and the occasional special dinner of spaghetti with hotdogs, it was going to be rather inconvenient to get re-accustomed to life with Leonard.

Yeah, that's what was bothering him. That was all. Not that he already missed Penny's scent. Not that Amy's hand that was now grasping his felt all wrong. Not that all he wanted to do was go back to sleep with Penny's head on his shoulder. No, it was just the inconvenience of it all.

Before Penny went to bed, she sent Sheldon a text. _I'm going to quiz you on that Cosmo tomorrow. Don't think I'm letting you off the hook._

Sheldon sent back with the speed of light, _I wouldn't dream of it._

And when day turns to night and night turns into sleep, both of them have an aching yet hopeful feeling that nothing has ended, exactly. No, it has actually just begun.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N - It should NOT take as long to post the next chapter and I apologize for the long break. Vacations and other assorted things, you know how it is. Thank you for sticking with me and this story, I swear it will be a good one. It might take a few chapters to get going but there's lots of good things in store for us. Yay. So again, thank you for reading, thank you for the feedback, thank you to my beta Sam, and...rock on.**

* * *

_May_

After witnessing a miracle at Raj's, (he could talk to her without alcohol! After all these years!) Penny drove herself and a pouting Sheldon home. Normally Sheldon talked her ear off whenever she was driving, but on this particular night, they were both quiet. Contemplative. Perhaps even a little sad. When they got home, Penny essentially sleep-walked up the countless stairs and drifted to her apartment. Sheldon followed her, himself zombie-like, and opened his own apartment to a rare and unsettling kind of quiet he knew he may never get used to. Growing up, he had a very loud family and a very loud house. When he went to school, he lived in a noisy dorm. With Leonard around, there was always some kind of chaos surrounding the two of them. Now he was going to live by himself for almost four months, which was slightly terrifying.

Penny, however, couldn't imagine herself living with anyone, not even Leonard. She loved coming home and watching reruns of Sex and the City or Friends after a long day of enduring more Star Trek and Star Wars than anybody possibly needed or wanted to. After a double shift and another grueling, ridiculous day at the Cheesecake Factory, there was nothing she liked more than having a glass (or five) of wine and taking a long, steamy bath. But the night she dropped Leonard off, all she wanted was sleep. But she didn't cry. Penny wasn't really the kind of girl who cried over missing a boyfriend. At least she didn't used to be. Falling in love with Leonard was changing her, and sometimes she wondered if it was for the better or worse.

There was something else. A huge part of Penny was worried. She was worried that all the hard work and emotions and feelings she put into her relationship with Leonard would unravel while he was gone. Not that she wanted it to, but Penny knew a cold, hard fact about herself: distance did not make the heart grow fonder. She tried the long distance relationship thing a few times with no success. But maybe things would be different this time. After all, she _did _miss Leonard an awful lot when he went to the North Pole, and that was even before they were going out. But somewhere in the back of her mind, she was nervous. What if everything changed before he got back? Penny had an uneasy feeling about the whole thing.

Meanwhile, looking at their empty apartments and pondering the lonely days and nights ahead of them, both Sheldon and Penny wondered if they should invite the other over. Just for one night. Just so they wouldn't be alone. It probably would have been nice, but neither of them made the effort. So in two apartments a few feet from each other, two sad people fell asleep, having no way to know that the answer to their questions were always right in front of them.

* * *

Penny was sound asleep, still wearing her clothes from the night before, lost in a world of sleep and dreams and darkness. That all ended with those three damn knocks on her front door.

"Penny! Penny! Penny!"

Exactly how many times in her life was her precious sleep interrupted by this frustrating human being? Didn't he have someone else to bother this early in the morning? Her eyes tried to focus on the alarm clock next to her bed...it was only 8:15 in the morning. For a glorious moment, she pondered just ignoring Sheldon's obnoxious knocking, but this wasn't her first rodeo. He would only knock again and again, each time getting more and more desperate until he woke up the whole damn building.

She groaned and managed to force herself out of bed. Thrusting open the door, she croaked, "What the hell, Sheldon? What could you possibly want at 8:15 in the freakin' morning?"

Sheldon was holding his throat protectively, but he was in luck. She wasn't in a violent mood this particular morning.

"Penny, it's Friday morning. It's a day in which I have to work. My understanding is that you will be taking me to work."

Penny stared at him, her mouth open unattractively, completely speechless. When she finally managed to collect her thoughts, she said, "Are you kidding me, Moonpie? How, pray tell, did you come to this conclusion?"

"Penny, I have told you countless times to please refrain from calling me that. And I thought it was understood now that Leonard is not available, you will be his proxy for my ride to work."

"No. No way. You have a girlfriend, it's her responsibility now." Penny felt just a tiny bit terrible for throwing Amy under the bus like that, but it was true. Penny was not Sheldon's girlfriend, she never would be, and the woman who earned that title should be the one who drove his grown ass to work.

"As you know, Amy is working on using the SALL4 gene to fight cancer in humans. She's working with many different researchers and they're getting closer and closer to getting very good results. I don't want to bother her during this important time; I would expect the same of her if I was deeply involved in a project of my own."

Penny sighed. She was proud of her bestie for doing important work and all, but come on. "That's...great. Uh, what about Raj? Why can't he take you?"

"He lives on the other side of town; it would be rather inconvenient, don't you think?"

This made Penny chuckle. "Oh, sure, sure,_ inconvenient._ We definitely don't want that. Well, what about Howard?"

"Howard has a different work schedule this summer, and besides, haven't you seen that man drive? I fear for my life when I'm in his car."

"Oh, and you feel perfectly safe in my car?" Sheldon shrugged. Penny knew he hated going anywhere in her car and he just wanted her to drive him because it was easier to go across the hall and annoy her.

And she didn't even bother mentioning the bus. It wasn't worth it. "Fine," she grumbled. "I have an audition in a few hours, anyway. I guess it would be good to wake up and prepare for it. BUT. I will not be doing this every single day, Sheldon. You're going to have to find someone else at least two or three days a week. I have things to do. Like sleep."

Sheldon nodded, but didn't look convinced. This was going to be a thing, wasn't it? Penny was already dreading the rest of the summer and it was just her first day without Leonard. Sighing, she put on a sweatshirt and some shorts and tiredly shoved her feet into some flip-flops.

"Well, are you coming, Shelly?"

* * *

Sheldon supposed if he was going to count on Penny for rides to work and other assorted places during the summer (the train store in Malibu was having a special anniversary party in July!), he'd have to put up with her name calling and other abuses. While Penny drove him to work, looking pissed the whole way, Sheldon pondered getting an actual license and perhaps buying a car so he wouldn't have to depend on others all the time. But then he chuckled and gave himself a proper talking to about the dangers of driving a vehicle.

"What's so funny?" Penny grumbled, thankfully not bothering to look at him and instead keeping her eyes on the road.

"Oh, well, I was just noticing that your check engine light doesn't seem to be blinking today. I was chuckling to myself because you finally took my advice to take your vehicle to a professional maintenance establishment to get it repaired."

Now it was Penny's turn to chuckle. "No, actually it just burned out one day. Thanks for caring, though."

"Penny, really. I think we should take your car in for service at some point this summer, the sooner the better. I'm sure there are at least a few reputable mechanics in the greater Orange County region."

"_We_? You're just worried about_ you,_ Sheldon. So if it's all the same to you, I'll drive my crappy car until the wheels fall off. I can't afford it, anyway. I really need to do well at this audition today; the Factory has been cutting way down on my hours lately."

Sheldon sighed. For some reason, he didn't like the accusation that he only cared about his own well-being. Sure, he was in fact worried about that, but the idea of Penny driving a car around town until the wheels came off was truly unsettling to him. Who would take him to the comic book store if that happened? And if something terrible were to happen to her, who would sing him Soft Kitty when he got sick? He didn't dare teach Amy the song. It felt wrong, somehow. And he preferred Penny's singing voice-not that he'd ever dare tell Amy that. Even he knew that was a death sentence.

"Yes, well, if you don't do as well as anticipated for your audition, perhaps I can help you with the costs of the repair."

They had reached a red light, and Penny looked over at Sheldon, smiling slightly. He always did enjoy her smile when it was directed at him, which it so rarely ever was.

"That's very generous of you, sweetie," she said, her voice soft and vulnerable for the first time that day. "But you know I can't let you do that."

"Well, of course you can_ let_ me do that. I know you don't_ want_ to be indebted to me, but aren't we past that social norm at this point in our friendship? Your vehicle has been on the verge of a complete breakdown for what, six years now? So stop being so stubborn and let me do this for you. I'll find a way you can make it up to me."

"We'll see," Penny said, and Sheldon let it go. He now had a new goal for the summer-get Penny's car fixed. He didn't really know why he was so determined to get it fixed, but it was going to happen whether either of them liked it or not.

A few minutes later, Penny pulled up to university and stopped to let Sheldon out. "Have a good day, dear," she said. "Do I need to pick you up later?"

"Raj said he has a few errands to do on our side of town after work and he will take me home today, thank you."

Penny smiled. "Great. See you later."

She was about to drive away when Sheldon said, "Penny? Good luck on your audition."

"Aww, thank you, that really means a lot to me," she said, and gave him her comforting smile again. He watched as she drove away, wondering why a simple ride to work was somehow so satisfying.

On the way home, Penny put her radio on the pop station, turned it up as loud as possible, and tried to tune out the weird feeling that was starting to creep into her thoughts. She couldn't even identify it yet; it didn't exactly have a name or a rhyme or a reason. It had something to do with Sheldon, yes, but that's all she could come up with at the moment. He was so sweet sometimes, and it always took her by surprise. Amy complained so frequently about how he wasn't giving her the attention and affection she was always craving, Penny forgot what it was like when he did actually care about something other than his work. Interesting.

At home, Penny took her time getting ready for the audition. It was for some kind of sci-fi sitcom pilot for cable, which didn't exactly sound amazing, but the premise actually did look interesting. Penny was starting to get a little desperate, actually; she'd been in California for a long time and her acting career wasn't going as planned. Being a waitress for the rest of her life didn't exactly appeal to her. Sometimes she let herself ponder moving back to Nebraska. Her sister always needed help with the kids and her mom and dad frequently commented on how she needed to visit more often. Of course she'd miss Leonard and he'd be devastated, but she couldn't keep going to audition after audition without any kind of success. All the rejection was bad for her self-esteem, not to mention her bank account.

After making herself look as hot and presentable as possible, she left an hour early for the audition and soon found herself in a room full of Penny lookalikes. She sat down and read the script over again, making sure she felt comfortable with the part.

"Penny? Please come in," said a cute dude with glasses and interesting stubble. "My name is William Bailey, I'm the writer for Starlight City. As you probably know, this is going to be kind of a nerdy show with lots of sci-fi elements, but it's funny, too. There's not a lot of stuff out there like it right now, so hopefully people will respond to it. Anyway, you're auditioning for the role of Clarissa, a babe from space with all sorts of fun powers and abilities. Eventually you and the leading man will end up together, obviously, but first we have to build Clarissa a back story. Anyway, I just rambled on way too much. Let's read these lines together, okay?"

Penny nodded, smiling. William was young and cute and anxious for a hit, and she wanted him to succeed already. They read the lines together and Penny tried her absolute hardest to impress him. The lines were easy and they got through them quickly.

When they were done, William nodded approvingly and said, "Well, that was great, Penny. You can definitely expect a call from us soon. Oh, and here's more of the script for the pilot. I guess I should tell you that your character is part robot and has some pretty intense dialogues that may be kind of difficult to digest. Do you think you can handle it?"

Penny looked through the script and her heart sank. She'd never even seen or heard of most of the weird scientific words she was supposed to say. Of course. Of course her audition would go well and of course she'd go down in flames when it came to the scientific terms. Where the hell was Leonard when she needed him?

And then a light bulb went off in her head. Leonard wasn't the only man in her life who could help her with these words, these concepts. Maybe she could work out a deal with Sheldon. She'd cart his transportation-less ass to work every day if he could do this for her.

"I could totally nail this," Penny told William. "Piece of cake."

William grinned. "Perfect. We'll call you soon to let you know when to come in next. But if you get this dialogue right, I can tell you that you've got this part in the bag."

Penny couldn't help it-she jumped up and gave him a hug. William chuckled. She thanked him and practically skipped to her car. Sure, she missed Leonard and she was still dreading the summer without him, but things were looking up. And she couldn't wait to tell Sheldon all about it.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N - Once again, I am sorry for the delay! I swear on all of my Big Bang Theory DVDs that the next chapters won't take so long. Thank you for your patience, thank you for reading, and thank you SO MUCH for your feedback, it means a lot to me.**

**A guest had a bit of confusion with the last chapter so I thought I'd clarify that the first chapter I posted was actually the prologue, which just kind of gave a preview of how close Sheldon and Penny had grown during the summer. The chapter I posted next is supposed to be the first chapter, which along with the next couple of chapters is showing the process of them growing close. Sorry if that was confusing.**

**Anyway! Thank you again for everything and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

Penny stared straight ahead, chewing on a fingernail with one hand and the other hand on the steering wheel. She was glad Sheldon was consumed with the questions he was asking her instead of having a panic attack about her hand positioning.

"Okay, name the list of steps used to find a solution to a given problem."

"Um...oh, my god, I know this..."

"Penny, we went over this exactly 38 times last night. If you don't know the answer, I'm afraid there's no hope for you."

Penny exhaled. All she wanted to do was turn on the radio and tune out the loud, obnoxious, tall nerd who sat in her passenger seat, but she really did need to know the words she was about to say out loud at her audition.

"Algorithm," Penny said finally. "It's algorithm."

"Very nice. Now, who was the producer of the original Industrial Robot, and when and where did it occur?"

"Come on, you could have at least given me a harder question. Kawasaki, 1969, Japan."

Sheldon looked sufficiently impressed. "Well, I think that's it for now. From what I've seen this morning, you have adequately memorized all the words for your audition."

"Don't look so surprised. I am an actress, you know. I have to memorize things for a living."

"Like the dessert menu at the Cheesecake Factory?"

Fortunately they were at a red light, so Penny could safely look over and give him a withering glare.

At first, Sheldon didn't seem particularly anxious to help Penny for her audition. He remembered trying to teach her physics-they both remembered that cold, dark day. But after she casually threatened him with making him take the bus for the next three months, he had a quick change of heart. After all, he still couldn't find his bus pants.

The two of them had spent the last two days with Penny's script, going over every single word and definition and pronunciation, making sure she knew not just what she was saying but why she was saying it and how she was saying it. Penny needed this part. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that unless she got this role or another similar one very, very soon, she was going to have to face the decision of going back to Nebraska. She had done her best in California and now maybe it was time to revisit her roots. Maybe she could convince Leonard to come with her. Or maybe they could do a long distance thing. Although she expected to miss him like crazy while he was gone, Penny found that keeping herself busy and spending lots of time with Sheldon was helping the time pass quickly. So maybe a long distance relationship wouldn't be so...bad. It was just something she'd been pondering for a few weeks.

When they made it to the university, she couldn't help herself-Penny reached over and messed with Sheldon's hair before he got out of the car.

"Well, that was highly unnecessary, Penny," Sheldon said as he desperately tried to put his hair back in position.

"Sorry, sweetie, I'm just so grateful for your help that I had to show you somehow," she said, grinning.

"Well, a 'thank you' would suffice." Truthfully he didn't look _that_ annoyed.

For the second time that week, before Penny pulled away, Sheldon leaned into the car and said, "Penny, thank you for the ride, and I know you'll do well at your audition. You know the material almost as well as I do at this point."

Penny smiled. "Thank you, Sheldon. Have a great day at work."

Not that either of them knew it at the time, but they both parted ways with a strange smile on their faces.

* * *

Sheldon's smile didn't last very long, however, because standing in his way was none other than Barry Kripke, and he was grinning from ear to ear.

Sheldon sighed. "What is it, Barry? I'm already running late and so are you."

"Relax, Cooper, nobody cares if you're three minutes late for the first time in your life. I'd rather talk about the smoking hot blonde who just dropped you off. Uh, wow?"

Sheldon was rather confused for a moment, and then it occurred to him that Barry was talking about Penny.

"Yes, Penny. I believe you've met her before. She was giving me a ride to work."

Barry whistled lewdly. "Leonard's girlfriend is taking you to work? What does he think about that?"

Sheldon looked confused again. "Why should Leonard care about Penny driving me to school? Is there some kind of social paradigm I should be aware of that makes it taboo for another man's girlfriend to drive me to work?"

"When the girl is that hot, yes, it's taboo," Barry said, chuckling. "I wish she'd drive me to work, if you know what I mean."

"But Barry, you have a perfectly acceptable vehicle in which to drive yourself to work," Sheldon said, about ready to give up on this pointless conversation completely.

"I'm just proud of you, Cooper. You went from tapping that Amy chick to getting it on with Penny. You're a dog! Don't worry, I won't tell Leonard that you're doing his girl while he's gone."

Sheldon was finally catching on to where this conversation was leading, and he wasn't happy about it. In fact, he was just plain pissed. He didn't like the way Barry was talking about Penny. For one of the first times in his life, he understood why men got in fist fights over women. Penny didn't deserve to be treated like a sex object, even though it was clear that many men through the years had done just that. Of course Sheldon thought Penny was attractive; he made that clear soon after they met when they played Halo together for the first time. But he never thought that was _all_ she had to offer. Yes, she was loud and she was always mooching their milk and Wi-Fi and she was pretty much the complete opposite of everything Sheldon stood for, but he never thought those were _negative_ things, necessarily. Just different.

"Barry, I am still 'tapping' Amy Farrah Fowler with an alarming frequency. Just because a woman drives me to work doesn't mean I'm involved in a sexual relationship with her. While I do appreciate Penny's beauty, I would never take advantage of it. And frankly, the fact that you speak of her with such derogatory terms makes me quite angry. If we were in fact friends before, I think I can safely say that the friendship is over."

Before Kripke could fire back, Sheldon moved past him and walked quickly to his office. Of course he was lying about Amy, but it was just easier. More disconcerting than the lie was how Barry's words about Penny made Sheldon feel. He felt weirdly protective, and..._mad_. These were not feelings Sheldon particularly knew what to do with, and it threw him off for almost the entire day.

At lunch with Howard and Raj, Sheldon was almost finished eating his apple when he got a text.

_Pretty sure I aced the audition...thank u for all your help, couldn't have done it w/o u!_

Sheldon couldn't help it-for the millionth time that day, he smiled. He fired back, _Congratulations, I knew you could do it. You are an excellent robot._

"What's that about? Did Amy send you a naked pic of herself or something?" Howard asked, trying to get a look at Sheldon's phone.

"Yes. Something like that." Sheldon didn't know why he was lying; he didn't know why he didn't just tell Howard the text was from Penny. Maybe he just wanted to keep it to himself. All Sheldon knew was that things were changing, and he wasn't sure how or why or if he even wanted them to.

* * *

There were good auditions and bad auditions, and at this point in her career (if she could even call it that), Penny could tell the difference. This was a good audition. William praised her over and over again, the rest of the crew seemed impressed, and she felt amazing. Starlight City wasn't exactly her dream role (Julia Roberts never played a robot in a sci-fi sitcom, did she?), but it was going to open up a lot of doors for her, hopefully soon. Maybe she wouldn't have to work at the Cheesecake Factory forever, or go home to Nebraska, tail between her legs.

Thank goodness for Sheldon and his persistence in teaching her all the robot and other scientific terminology she needed to know. It occurred to her that if she got the part, she'd have to rely on him more and more, at least until Leonard came home. First of all, Penny hoped Sheldon had the patience to keep teaching her, and second, she was kind of excited about all the new things she'd learn from him. Ever since she started taking classes at the community college, Penny discovered she loved learning the things she never picked up on before. And Sheldon was her favorite teacher.

"We'll call you," William said before Penny left the audition. "But I think I can safely say that you got it. Whether the networks will pick it up after the pilot, that's another situation entirely. So don't quit your day job or anything. Yet."

"Oh, wow, thank you so much!" Penny exclaimed, happy and excited and nervous all at once. "Thank you, you won't regret it."

"Of course I won't. You aced all the terminology; we haven't had a single person who managed to get all the words and terms right. You're going to be a great addition to the cast, Penny. Smile! This is going to be good." William gave her a big grin, patted her on the shoulder, and then he was gone.

Penny looked through her purse for her keys and went outside into the bright, hot, sunny day. She felt like skipping, she was so happy. While she knew she still had to get through the taping of the pilot, and that the pilot still had to be picked up, and that she still had to tough it out at the Factory for a while, she knew good things were on the way. And at that moment, she didn't miss or even think about Leonard at all. Maybe that was a problem. Maybe the fact that she was thinking about Sheldon and how much she loved it when he helped her was an even bigger problem. But as she had gotten so used to doing, Penny pushed those thoughts right out of her head and got her cell phone out. It was celebration time.

* * *

"And a toast to Penny, who will soon be kicking ass as the hottest robot ever," Amy said, raising her glass. Bernadette and Penny toasted her back, and gulped down their alcoholic beverages. Well, Penny gulped, Bernadette politely sipped.

"Thanks, lady friend. I can't believe it. I'm so excited! Soon enough, I'll never have to serve a cheeseburger to a douchebag who calls me 'Barbie Von ButtCheeks' ever again. Not that he ever called me that twice-the tea I spilled on him 'accidentally' seems to have gotten the message across."

Penny, Bernadette and Amy were at a fantastically crappy dive bar for a girls' night, which they hadn't had together for way too long. All three of them were always either working or with their significant others and it was hard to get in some good girls time. But after her audition, Penny was feeling so good that she needed to hang out with her girlfriends, and immediately. Fortunately Amy was just at home giving herself a bikini wax (she had to maintain it somehow) and Bernadette was dying for a break from doing Howard's laundry. Now they were on the express train to getting drunk and having a deliciously amazing night. Howard was on call to be their designated driver for the evening.

After a spirited discussion of both what happened on Dexter the night before and then the new developments in the world of neurobiology and brain chemistry (Penny used this time as an opportunity to eat a lot of peanuts and catch up on Words with Friends on her cell phone), the topic turned to their men, as it always tended to do.

"Howie is so cute lately," Bernadette said. "He's working extra-long hours at the lab so we can take a cruise to Alaska next year. Of course, his mother is coming with us but hopefully we can at least get a separate room."

Penny thought that sounded mildly horrifying but didn't share that thought with Bernadette. "That's funny, Leonard is kind of on a cruise right now. I mean, I guess it's not a cruise and it's for work and everything, but still..."

"Do you miss him?" Bernadette asked.

"Not really…is that weird? He's just been gone for like a week. I haven't had time to miss him."

"Oh, I miss Howie after a really long day at work. I don't know what I'd do if he was gone for a week, much less all summer. After he came back from space, I didn't want to let him go!"

Penny felt bad. How come she didn't miss Leonard like that? She loved him, she really did. And after a long time of not allowing herself to ponder it, sometimes she could even think of their future together without completely freaking out. So why didn't she miss him? Penny decided to change the subject. To anything but Leonard.

"Hmm. Well...Amy, how are you and Sheldon doing lately?" It wasn't an unusual question; Penny and Amy talked about her relationship with Sheldon all the time. But tonight this question seemed to be more important. And she didn't know why.

"Well, I'm a bit troubled, actually. We haven't been spending a lot of time together. Of course, I'm quite busy at work and so is he, but I've got to get my sugar or mama's not happy, you know what I mean?"

Penny frowned. "No, not really. What is the 'sugar', in this case? Did Sheldon finally reach puberty?"

Amy chuckled. "No, of course not. I meant it figuratively. But seeing as how lately he has not been condemning the act of coitus and has actually admitted that physical intimacy in the future is not something he's completely opposed to, I believe it is only a matter of months or possibly a year until we engage in such acts. I'd say by February 14th, 2014, I will have an interesting tale or two to tell."

"Wow, Amy, you are really patient! How do you put up with him when there are so many other men out there would love to be in a physical relationship with you?" Bernadette asked. Penny was wondering the same thing, but she wouldn't have said it so eloquently or tactfully.

"Are you kidding? I've put in so much time and effort with Sheldon. I wouldn't want some other girl to come along and pop the lid off after I ran him under the hot water for so long, you know what I mean?"

Penny actually did know what her strange friend meant. "We get it, Amy. And you know what, I have to compliment your weird boyfriend. He really helped me with the robot terminology I had to know for the audition. He's becoming more patient in his older years. I think I have you to thank for that."

Amy smiled. "That's my boyfriend. He is such a giver." But then she frowned a bit. "I guess that's why we haven't spent much time together lately-he's been helping you with your work."

"Oh, well, of course you're free to come over and help me, too. It's just that he's across the hall and I can walk in and bother him any time," Penny rushed to explain. Why did she suddenly feel like she had to justify her actions to Amy? Was she...feeling guilty or something?

"Oh, yes, of course. And I would have done so if Sheldon had invited me or told me what you two were doing. I'm a good teacher. I'm sure he lost his patience a few times. I wouldn't have done that with you, Penny." And she winked for some reason.

"That's good to know. I'll tell Sheldon you're willing to help, too," Penny said, and took a big, long drink. The topic again turned to TV and pop culture and the cute waiter, and Penny almost forgot how she didn't miss her boyfriend at all, and how badly she wanted to go home and talk to her loud, obnoxious, tall nerd of a neighbor across the hall.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N - I suck. You know I suck, I know I suck, everyone knows I suck. I shall offer no excuses or apologies and just say I hope that you will forgive me and accept this chapter as a peace offering. It shouldn't take as long to update next time. Really! I am serious.  
**

**A big thanks as usual to Anna, who is very passionate about Doctor Who and gave me a lot of useful information for this chapter. Thank you.**

**As always, feedback is welcome and encouraged. Thank you very much for your patience. You're all the wind beneath my wings.  
**

* * *

_A week or two later_

It was getting easier to wake up before Sheldon came knocking at her door every morning. Maybe it was because Penny had something to look forward to-in just a week, shooting for the pilot was going to start. Perhaps it was too optimistic of her, but Penny had a good feeling about this opportunity. It was a unique show, and it was fun, and a lot of people believed in it, so maybe this could be her big break after all.

On this particular cloudy summer morning, Penny woke up before her alarm. She took a shower, made some coffee, and poured out some cereal to eat while she checked her email. Sometimes Leonard was able to get a signal and send her a few paragraphs of what he'd been up to on the boat and how much he missed her. Those emails were nice...a little something to help her get through the day. No email this morning, though. Oh, well. Maybe tomorrow.

Penny sent Leonard her daily email of "Love you, miss you, kisses and hugs, etc." and then checked her Facebook. Maybe he left her a little something there. Nope, no Leonard, just a wall post from Amy about their upcoming girls night and few invites to play Candy Crush or whatever the heck it was. Penny absentmindedly clicked on Leonard's name to see his wall. It looked the same as always, except a new post from some random chick she'd never seen or heard about. Well, that was interesting.

_Leonard - it was great hanging out with you on the ship today! So glad Stephen introduced us. It's always great to meet another physics geek who also loves Buffy and Firefly. I hope we can chat when you get back to California. We'll have that coffee you promised. ;)_

Who the hell was this "Mandy Martin" and what the hell did she want with Leonard? Penny clicked on her name and proceeded to look at dozens of pictures of this chick on the beach, this chick in a bikini, this chick drinking margaritas with other tall, thin, tan girls, and then one tiny picture of her in a lab coat, looking studious and holding a beaker. Penny instantly knew what this chick was about, and didn't like it all.

Fuming, Penny turned off the computer and stomped to her bedroom to get dressed. Okay, so he was meeting girls on the boat. That was fine. It was more than fine; it was great. Leonard deserved to make new friends, people he could get along with and talk to while gone for so long. And obviously Penny wasn't the jealous type. What did she need to be jealous of, anyway? Leonard was hopeless at flirting. Plus, Penny was confident in their love for each other. That hadn't come naturally to her, either. She had to work hard on becoming so secure in the relationship, but she made it. So it was rather unsettling that this one Facebook incident was bothering her so much. A million questions floated in and out of her head...where did they meet? Where did she get a signal to get on Facebook? Was she staying on the boat with him or did the boat dock for a while? And if it did, why didn't he find a way to call Penny? This whole thing was putting her in a horrible mood. All she wanted to do was talk to Leonard, but of course that wasn't an option. She found her phone buried underneath her discarded clothes from the night before and texted him anyway.

_Hey babe...call me when u get a chance. Need to talk to u!_

Penny glanced at the digital clock next to her bed. Six minutes until Sheldon was due to show up. For some reason, this made her feel better. It was funny how lately thinking about Leonard made her feel anxious, but being with Sheldon seemed to calm her down. That hadn't always been the case, obviously; she and Sheldon had to come a long way to get where they were now, just like Penny and Leonard's relationship. She really didn't get Sheldon at all when they first met and would have preferred Leonard come with a non-whackadoodle roommate. But over the years she grew to quite enjoy their friendship and was grateful to be able to rely on it now that Leonard was gone. Ever since Leonard made his announcement about his plans, Penny had been dreading the summer. But now she was looking forward to what kind of surprises it would bring.

* * *

Sheldon knocked, Penny answered. This was the routine, and Sheldon needed (and enjoyed) routines. Usually he'd make a light-hearted attempt to make her laugh and she'd either glare at him or chuckle as intended. But this morning, something about Penny's face told him that his usual humor would not be welcome. Maybe she had a bad night. Maybe she ate something too sugary for breakfast-he noticed that when she ate a particular kind of cereal, or when she skipped breakfast altogether, it put her in a grumpy sort of mood.

But on this day, he couldn't read her mood, so he decided to just leave her alone with her thoughts. Although Old Sheldon would want to get to the bottom of it, New Sheldon, the one who had spent the last couple weeks learning the ins and outs of Penny's mood cycles (although he was confused as to how Leonard was able to keep up with them so accurately for so many years), knew that if Penny wanted to talk, she would talk. And eventually she did.

"Am I picking you up tonight?" She finally said, breaking the tense silence between them.

"Um, yes, if that's quite all right with you. Raj normally picks me up on Thursdays but today—"

"Good. We'll take you to the comic book store and then we'll take me to the liquor store. We'll go home, order pizza, you can read your book while I drink a glass or two...oh, hell, a _bottle _or two—no, definitely two—of wine. It'll be great."

Sheldon didn't actually have much objection to Penny's plan; it sounded quite efficient, actually. However, he was still concerned about her liquor intake.

"Penny, not that I don't like this plan of yours, but over the years since we've known each other, I've developed a hypothesis that you tend to drink more alcohol when you're angry about something. I find that when I'm perturbed, I like to watch a comforting episode of Doctor Who, or write a letter to a company that I am unhappy with, perhaps."

Penny snorted. "I don't think Doctor Who is a match for the kind of anger I have inside me right now."

They had reached the university now and that was probably Sheldon's cue to depart the car, and the conversation. But he was worried about his friend, and he wanted her to know that.

"I don't know why you're angry; although obviously I'm sure it has something to do with Leonard. But Penny, frequent and long-term use of alcohol can lead to some serious and unwanted side effects. I would like to show you other ways of alleviating your stress in frustrating situations. Perhaps the ways that I am accustomed to aren't suitable for your needs, but maybe we can find something else that will be." He was already thinking of what episode to show her, even if she hadn't agreed yet. "Vincent and the Doctor" would be perfect for the point he wanted to make.

They had gotten to the university at this point, and Penny found a parking spot and turned off the car. She looked at him with genuine affection in her eyes and said, "Sweetie, thank you so much for caring. I'd really like to watch Doctor Who with you tonight, if that's what you think will help. I've never seen it before. Maybe I'll like it."

It was not often Sheldon found himself confused, but the way Penny was looking at him made him feel something he wasn't quite sure how to name. This was happening more often than he'd prefer lately.

"Well, good. I'll see you later, then."

"I'm looking forward to it," Penny said, smiling. Then she scooted closer to him and did something that shocked both of them—she kissed him on the cheek.

"Sorry. Couldn't help myself. See you later!" She said cheerfully. Sheldon managed to nod. He then sort of stumbled from the car. He stood on the sidewalk and watched as she drove away, wondering what the evening had in store for the both of them.

* * *

As Penny drove away, she thought about how sweet Sheldon was being lately. Leonard had put her in charge of him while he was gone, but maybe it was the other way around. Or maybe, most likely, they were taking care of each other.

After daydreaming about that for way too long, Penny came back to reality. She was still pissed at her stupid boyfriend and she also had to work at the Cheesecake Factory before she could have TV time with Sheldon. For the next six hours, she got lost in her usual world of spilling soup on herself, three attempted ass grabs from her lovely patrons (she was an expert at seeing this move coming and avoiding it by now), as many cheesecakes as one building could hold, and so it goes. She was way too busy to think about Sheldon and their planned evening together, but every so often she'd have a moment to breathe, and she'd think about how much he cared about her well-being, and it would make her smile. Then she'd think about Leonard and the mysterious company he was keeping on the boat and that would piss her off again. So many conflicting feelings...welcome to Penny's world.

An hour before she was scheduled to go home, Penny was starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. She was in one of her happier moods of the day when her manager called her into his office.

"Sure, Roger," she muttered, following him to the dark, intimidating office. This was never good. Unless he was going to offer her a raise, of course. But she hadn't gotten a raise in more than a year and wasn't really expecting one any time soon.

Roger, a middle-aged man with a trying-too-hard ponytail and tired brown eyes, sat down at his desk. Penny chose to keep standing. His office was full of motivational posters and Employees of the Month pictures, and you could just tell he was proud of every single one of them. Roger was one of those people who seemed born to be a manager at the Cheesecake Factory.

"Penny, do you like your job?"

"Of course I do," she said automatically, silently hating herself for this obvious lie. _Nobody_ liked working at the Cheesecake Factory; they only did it while they tried to find somewhere else to work. Everyone knew this. Even Roger knew this. But Penny knew she was in for one of his infamous "pep talks."

"I'm concerned that you're not showing enough enthusiasm out there on the floor. If it's not too much of an imposition, I'd really love it if you could take a little more pride in your work."

Was this dude serious? She brought turkey wraps to tourists. Cheesecakes to horny old men. Barbecue cheeseburgers to her friends. Over the years she'd endured countless come ons, phone numbers on napkins, jealous waitresses, sticky shoes and that awful uniform for barely minimum wage, and he wanted her to be _happy_ about it? Penny's brain burned with rage, but what could she do? She didn't want to burn this bridge, and her acting career, although improving rapidly, wasn't quite taking off yet.

"Of course, Roger. I'm curious, did I get any complaints?"

Roger cleared his throat-he did that with an alarming frequency-and said, "No, Penny, but you haven't gotten any compliments, either. So put on a smile and deliver those cheesecakes like your job depends on it."

Penny had watched every episode of the original CSI (at least until Grissom left, it just wasn't the same after that) and knew how to hide a dead body. This gave her comfort as she forced the fakest smile and said, "I'll do my very best. This job is really important to me." _I wish I could cut your ponytail off in the middle of the night._

He turned away, not even caring enough to dismiss Penny. She spent the next hour smiling like an idiot and fuming inside. Only a bottle of wine could cure the anger building up in her soul...maybe she could sneak a few drinks before she went across the hall. But she promised Sheldon she'd give his stress-relieving technique a try instead. Ugh, dinner and a TV show with Moonpie better be worth it, she thought. If not, she was going back to her place and getting black-out drunk. Which should have been alarming, actually, but she was too pissed off-at Roger, at Leonard, at the world in general-to recognize that fact.

* * *

"Okay, so let me get this straight-this cute-slash-nerdy dude goes back in time with his also time-traveling lady friend and they meet people and have adventures and stuff?"

"Yes, Penny. That is the most basic way anyone has ever described Doctor Who, but that is essentially what it is about." Sheldon didn't have the patience to explain all the nooks and crannies of one of his favorite TV shows. He just wanted Penny to see this episode. For some reason, it was important to him.

Penny made herself a cup of tea in the kitchen and sat down on the couch next to him, sighing. She'd explained what a terrible day she'd had and how much she hated Leonard and her "ridiculous snake of a boss" and how much she wanted to drink something to alleviate her stress. Sheldon was all up to date now.

"Are you ready to watch this now?" Sheldon asked somewhat impatiently.

"I guess. Oh, wait." Penny got up and turned off all the lights. "A little mood lighting," she said before sitting back down. Sheldon wasn't particularly a fan of watching TV in the dark, but he was learning to pick his battles.

Sheldon expected a lot of questions and sighing and just general noise from Penny while they watched the show, but she was curled up next to him, silent and fascinated. Since he'd already seen the episode 63 times, he was more focused on Penny than the Doctor. She didn't realize it (or maybe she did), but she was inching closer and closer to him until she was nearly in his lap. Her movements and the warmth radiating from her body gave Sheldon some interesting feelings he wasn't sure what to do with, and not for the first time. And again not for the first time, Sheldon had to wonder why being this close to Amy never made him feel the same way. Of course he understood basic biology and body chemistry and knew the implications; he just didn't quite understand what it all meant. Maybe he wasn't meant to.

When it was over, Penny didn't say anything for a while. The next episode started playing and she seemed fascinated by that one, too. Finally she grabbed the remote from the table and muted it.

"So okay, the doctor guy and the redhead chick go back in time because there's a problem with that one painting by the dude who cut his ear off-yes, Sheldon, I know his name was Vincent Van Gogh, I'm just simplifying things-and what, they show him that he really was valued and appreciated as an artist, just not in his own time?"

Sheldon was vaguely impressed. "Yes, that's correct. And when-"

Penny interrupted. "And since Van Gogh met Amy and fell in love with her and he realized maybe everything is not so bad and life doesn't always have to be one tragic event after the other, the weird alien guy in the painting disappeared when they got back to the present. Wow, that is a strange sentence."

"It's obviously much more than that, but yes, you have the basic gist of the episode." He wanted to tell her all the reasons why he wanted her to watch it, but he didn't know if Penny was even interested in why. She seemed to just want to digest the basics of everything. That was one thing that frustrated Sheldon about Penny-she was capable of going deeper, but she just didn't want to. She had so much potential and sometimes it made him angry when all she talked about was shoes or reality shows.

Penny reached for his hand and he almost jumped off the couch. She was always trying to touch him in some way. It wasn't altogether unpleasant but a little warning would have been nice.

"Sweetie, why don't you tell me what this episode means to you and why you wanted me to see it. I mean, I have an idea, but I want to hear it in your words."

It was such a simple thing to say, but it meant something to Sheldon. Once again, the way she was looking at him; the way she wanted him to tell her why, how she was genuinely interested in what he had to say. This did not happen very often, with anyone, really. Obviously Amy was always fascinated by what he had to say but she never looked at him the way Penny was now. Even if Sheldon didn't know much about the subject, he recognized something in her eyes that Amy lacked. It was something slightly…sexual, maybe. Lustful? Carnal? He wasn't well enough versed in this world to know. Penny was, though. She may not know much about physics, but she knew plenty about biology.

Sheldon took a deep breath and exhaled. Penny never looked away. "Vincent Van Gogh only sold one painting when he was alive. That is the first thing you should know about him. He was also quite mentally ill, and probably an alcoholic. He is believed to have committed suicide. And yet he is one of the most famous artists of all time. That 'weird alien guy' in the painting represented everything that was wrong with his life. It represented his struggles of balancing creativity with the voices inside his head. And when Amy and the Doctor came along, they showed him that he was more than just a guy with a problem; more than an alcoholic, more than an artist, even. He was a human being."

"I get that, but when they left him back in his time, Amy was so sure that Van Gogh was going to live longer and produce more paintings and have more of a legacy, but when they got back, nothing was different. The alien was gone and he made that painting for Amy, but other than that, nothing changed. So what was the point?"

"The alien being gone _is_ the whole point. Just knowing that his paintings made a difference to people and that he was appreciated after his death made his inner demons, like the one in the painting, disappear. Of course his mental illness wasn't cured, but the voices inside his head that told him he was useless were silenced."

Penny thought about this. And looked confused. "Sheldon, I swear that I'm trying to figure out how this relates to me and my situation, but it's not working. A little help here, please?"

He squeezed her hand, which he was still holding. "Okay, Penny, don't hurt me, this is just something I have observed over the years-you seem to resort to alcohol quite frequently when you are stressed. And the cause of your stress always seems to be related to how you are not seen in the light you want to be seen in. Men see your outward appearance and treat you in a certain way. I am aware that Leonard sees past that now. However, based on his first impression, he was enamored with you from the first moment he laid eyes on you, which I am guessing is something that, while you've never been comfortable with, you're quite used to it at this point."

Penny nodded but stayed quiet. He could see the beginnings of tears in her eyes. But she deserved to hear the rest.

"I just want you to know there are some people who respect you for who you are and not who you look like. Granted, it took me a few years to see it, but I believe you are a remarkable actress, a brilliant performer, and more than that, you are an amazing friend."

Penny was smiling, if not a bit sadly. "An amazing friend? Did Amy tell you to say that? We're besties, you know."

"I have in fact witnessed your friendship with Amy develop and I know it means a lot to her. She's never had a friend like you before and it's made her into a much more self-confident woman. But I was not referring to her. Penny, I know I can be a bit obnoxious and annoying, but you see right through that. Remember when I wasn't feeling like myself because my regular barber was in the hospital and my hair was getting too long to properly function? You disregarded the fact that I was not acting rational and you just wanted me to feel better. Your concern about me; the way you offered to cut my hair was something I won't forget. Not that I forget anything, but you know what I mean."

"Sheldon. Stand up."

"Why? I'm perfectly comfortable-"

Penny rolled her tear-stained eyes. "Stand up!"

Sheldon obeyed. Penny jumped up and gave him a hug. And for the first time, Sheldon let himself enjoy it. He clung to her as hard as she clung to him. It was not over quickly. It was lingering and it was long and it was full of unresolved tension that the two of them had been ignoring for quite some time now. But even Sheldon knew that there was nothing either of them could do about it; or honestly, if he _wanted _to do anything about it. When did these things get so confusing?

"Honey, your friendship means so much to me, too. You just put a lot of things in perspective for me, thank you." She kissed him on the cheek and he knew he was probably turning bright red. How embarrassing.

They both sat back down to watch the next episode. As a final touch, Penny said, "If I was the redhead chick, I totally would have stayed with Van Gogh and had a million ginger babies. That dude was hot. I love me a bad boy." When Sheldon stared at her blankly, she just laughed. He would never get tired of her laugh.

* * *

Penny left Sheldon's an hour or so later. She immediately went to her kitchen and got out the bottle of wine she'd been thinking about all day. And then put it back into the refrigerator without thinking about it too much. Maybe she wouldn't always be able to put it back, but Sheldon's amazing words were still fresh in her mind. Nobody had ever said anything like that to her before. And the fact that he took the time to tell her and not get impatient when she didn't understand...he was so cute.

As she got ready for bed, Penny thought about that day they met in the hall almost seven years ago. What if Leonard hadn't fallen in love at first sight and hadn't been so persistent ever since? What if Penny went with her instinct that day when she saw two nerdy guys and she went for the tall one instead? What would be different, and what would be the same?

It was going to be a long summer, and Penny didn't know if she wished it was short so she could be with Leonard again as soon as possible, or if it could be long, so she could spend more time with Sheldon. This was going to be a problem, wasn't it? She was in trouble now. And the worst thing about it was, she was looking forward to it.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N - Well, it's not like I don't know exactly what I want to write for this story, and I don't at least think about writing it every day, so at least there's that. Thank you for sticking with it, and you know what? Thank you all for existing. This fandom is so amazing in every way. So here is a supersized chapter for your patience, and I welcome and appreciate any kind of feedback you have to give. Thank you and, as usual, rock on.**

**BEFORE**

_A few months later_

Penny grasped her phone with one hand while she carefully painted her toenails a dark blue with the other hand. Leonard was going on and on about some party they had on the boat and how amazing it was and how he talked to Stephen for like an hour about some physics thing that Penny was trying her absolute hardest to understand. And she tried, really, she did. It just...wasn't working so well.

"So anyway, I guess I'll see you next week. I miss you so much, you don't even understand," Leonard said.

"I miss you, too," Penny said. And she did miss him, maybe at least 50 percent of the time, anyway. Just as she was worried about from the beginning, after such a long absence, it had become all about out of sight, out of mind. She knew-well, hoped-that this feeling would go away once Leonard arrived back home. They had come so far after so long to let this trip come between them. Penny vowed to throw herself into the relationship when he got back. It would be fine. It was always fine and it would still be fine again.

"Now, for your first dinner back, should I set a place at the table for Mindy? Is she a vegetarian? What should I get her to drink?" Penny asked snarkily, knowing she was just adding fuel to the fire and not caring.

Leonard sighed. "It's Mandy. And I thought we were done with this?"

"Oh, we'll never be done with this," Penny said, wiping off some of the wayward nail polish from her toe. "I can't wait to meet her! She sounds nice."

When Penny finally managed to talk to Leonard a few days after seeing the suspicious post on his Facebook wall, of course Leonard had all kinds of things to say about Mandy Martin. She was the captain of the boat's niece, she was like five years younger than him, they didn't have that much in common and he really didn't spend _that_ much time talking to her. It was fine, really, nothing to be jealous about. Penny got over it rather quickly, actually. First of all, she wasn't inherently the jealous type of girl, anyway. It was, however, annoying that Leonard freaked out about every male interaction she had outside of their little group, yet he was allowed to talk to any girl that came in his path. Plus, Penny had too many other distractions going on during the summer to take her mind off these little things.

"Come on, Penny, for the millionth time, do you really think I would cheat on you? You're basically like the love of my life. Come on."

"Yeah, that's what you said about Priya, too, and look what happened with that comic book girl of yours."

This argument never ended well, either. It was almost like a script; they both said the exact same things every single time and it was getting so old and why couldn't either of them just drop it already?

Leonard sighed, and then changed the subject. Penny didn't blame him. "Is your show going well? You haven't been talking about it much when I call you."

Penny was always appreciative when Leonard at least pretended like he cared about her career. He was doing better lately, too. Maybe absence really did make the heart grow fonder. "It's great! It's a really fun show and I almost understand everything I'm talking about." _Thanks to Sheldon_.

"I'm so excited for you. When it airs, I can tell everyone that the beautiful robot is my girlfriend," Leonard said proudly. Penny had to restrain herself from groaning. It was true that she and Leonard were far from the two idiots they were the first time they tried this whole relationship thing, but sometimes deep in her heart she knew that her looks were still the most important factor in Leonard's appreciation of her as a person.

"I can't wait for that moment," Penny heard herself say.

"Anyway...how's Sheldon? You're looking out for him, right?"

Penny smiled. "Of course I am. Today after work I took him to the comic book store, then we went to the new pizza place and shared the greatest pizza I have ever known. Then we watched an old episode of Doctor Who and the new episode of Breaking Bad. It was quite a day." Penny tried her best to make that sound like sarcasm, but it was actually true-it was almost a _perfect_ day, in fact. But Leonard didn't exactly need to know that.

Leonard was quiet for a moment. "Sheldon willingly went with you to a new restaurant and watched Breaking Bad, too? Wow, he's really changing this summer."

"Ahh, he's still the same whackadoodle we all know and love."

"I must admit, he's handling it a lot better than I thought he would. I was almost positive I'd get a call about him going off the rails at some point. You must be taking good care of him."

Penny couldn't help it-she blushed. And decided to tell the truth. "Honestly, we're taking care of each other. He's really helped me get through you being gone. I don't know how I could have done it without him."

"Wow, that's…that's really great to hear. I was worried that you two would get sick of each other before the end of the summer. So, yeah. Good."

"Yep," Penny said. She examined her toes and found them to be as good as they were going to get, so she rooted around in a drawer until she found her favorite ruby red nail polish to put on her fingernails. She did all this while waiting for Leonard to say something else. Anything else.

In an effort to break the tension, Penny said, "Well, I have to go get ready for work now. See you soon, have fun with Mandy."

Leonard scoffed, but recovered quickly. "Cheesecakes or robots?"

"Robots today."

"Well, good luck," he said, genuine affection in his voice. "I hope it goes better for you."

"Me, too. Love you, see you soon," Penny said. Leonard echoed her words and they hung up. Penny read the newest People magazine while waiting for her nails to dry, and then reluctantly got up to find her Starlight City robot girl outfit, which was obviously strewn all over the floor.

The summer had thankfully gone by quickly while Leonard was gone. Starlight City was picked up after the pilot and just like that, Penny had her first role on television, the whole reason why she came out to live in California in the first place. And in the beginning, it was really fun. Penny loved learning her lines with Sheldon and then going in and dazzling the director and everyone else on the set. She was good at this job, and getting much-needed praise gave her confidence she'd never had before. Penny had paid her dues, now it was time to shine.

However, just like everything tended to do after a while, Penny realized that the show wasn't all it appeared. The director was just as nice as he was upon Penny's first impression, but he was also kind of creepy. He hit on Penny pretty much every single day, no matter how many times she told him that she had a boyfriend and wasn't interested. He seemed to shake it off after every rejection so Penny wasn't_ that_ worried about it. She was more concerned about the show itself. It was new and creative and fun, but it was also kind of…well, _stupid._ A sci-fi comedy sitcom was such a good idea in theory, but somehow it just wasn't working out that way on the show, and almost everyone knew it. But some cable channel picked it up and it was going to start airing in a matter of weeks. Penny was nervous that the show would ruin her reputation—then she remembered that she didn't have a reputation yet, which was even worse. So even though on paper Penny had everything she wanted, she still had a sinking feeling that this wasn't the big break she had in mind.

* * *

Sheldon was on his computer, trying to solve a complex equation he needed for work while also debating who was the best Batman in a thread on Reddit. He had some pretty strong words for a fellow who insisted Michael Keaton was the best when Penny barged in an interrupted his thought process. For the longest time, this habit of hers annoyed him, but he was used to it now. Actually, he supposed he enjoyed the interruption; it pierced the strange silence of the apartment that seemed to settle like a cloud of dust when Leonard was gone. Sheldon was both dreading and looking forward to Leonard coming home. He dreaded the fights about the temperature and Leonard's insistence on having French toast on pancake days, but he enjoyed having a friend to converse with; someone he could speak to on an intellectual level. But even though Penny was not exactly a suitable replacement companion in that manner, she offered him the chance to ponder other modes of thought. Like, for example, how the female brain operated, which came in handy when he was talking to female co-workers (Not that he had many of those), or in some cases, Amy. Amy had in fact commented recently how she felt Sheldon was a better listener than usual, and how she appreciated it. Sheldon supposed that being a better boyfriend was actually somewhat satisfying.

Penny got the chair from Leonard's desk and scooted it over to Sheldon's. While he was slightly perturbed that she was in his comfort zone, he didn't mind her closeness—not anymore. Although it had been a long summer of having conflicting and odd feelings towards his best friend's girlfriend, Sheldon had managed to successfully rationalize and sweep them under the rug. After all, he had his own girlfriend, and besides, "lust" wasn't in Sheldon's vocabulary. It was hard enough to imagine being intimate with Amy someday, but he promised her. It was so damn confusing, he just wanted to curl into a ball and forget about girls completely.

"Penny, to what do I owe the honor of your presence at this moment?"

"Nothing, really. I'm just bored. I have to go to work in like an hour. I thought we could watch another episode of Doctor Who. "

Sheldon nodded. "Very well. The DVD is still in the player from where we left off the last time."

Penny smiled and got up to turn the TV on. She sat in her usual place on the sofa, next to Sheldon's spot. Sheldon finished his Batman conversation and was intending to turn his attention to the equation when Penny said from the couch, "Aren't you going to sit next to me? Come on, it's our tradition!"

It had in fact become a tradition to watch Doctor Who together. For hours on end. Sometimes they'd share a meal, sometimes Howard and Bernadette or Amy or Raj would join them, but it was always Sheldon and Penny, sitting together, watching the show that had completely captivated them. Sheldon had already seen the episodes countless times, of course, but seeing it through Penny's eyes was a new adventure. Quite often after the show, they'd talk about what just happened, and sometimes it would naturally evolve into sharing things about themselves and their lives, things they'd never talked about together before. Penny had a way of making Sheldon feel perfectly at ease discussing his childhood in Texas, and for some reason, he was fascinated by her tales of life in Nebraska. For two very different people, they sure had a lot of things in common.

During a lull in the show, Penny turned to Sheldon and said quietly, "I'm going to miss this."

"What are you going to miss?" He asked, genuinely curious.

"Watching this with you. It's been fun, you know? I'm going to miss it." She didn't have to add the _when Leonard comes back_ part; it went without saying.

This is how Sheldon knew something subtle had changed over the summer—he knew exactly what she was talking about. But he still felt like pointing out the obvious.

"We can still do this when he comes back, you know. There is no valid reason why we couldn't."

"I know," Penny said, smiling. "But it won't be the same." She grabbed his hand for a second and he let himself enjoy the warmth. And then the moment was over, and it was back to Doctor Who, and the lingering confusion of the friendship with his next door neighbor.

**DURING**

Leonard had just returned home, and Penny was ecstatic, really, she was. Of course as soon as Leonard put his bags in his room and promised Sheldon he'd be back soon to talk about his trip and Stephen Hawking and everything else, he practically launched himself over to Penny's apartment and they were in bed minutes later. It was good to see him, good to feel him, good to be together again. She missed their intimacy—the summer had been full of long, hot nights that were made only a little bit easier by the important implement she kept in her closet. She'd never admit to anyone about the random nights she'd wake up from the hottest, most intense dreams she'd ever had—and every single one of them involved Sheldon. For the longest time, Penny never even found Sheldon attractive. But now every time she looked at him, she found some new, interesting thing about him. His eyebrows were the perfect length. His lips were full. His hair was slightly reddish in color when he spent too much time in the sun, which of course was not something he did often. It was getting sort of ridiculous, and Penny was glad to have Leonard back in her bed. It was just because he was gone for so long, that's all. Every woman had fantasies; harmless fantasies that meant nothing. Right?

Afterwards, they lay intertwined while Leonard caught his breath. "Wow, that was…I don't even know what that was. I missed it, that's for sure."

"Oh, come on, Mandy didn't get to enjoy your specific brand of foreplay?" Penny teased. Leonard chuckled, but it sounded like a bitter chuckle instead of an amused one.

"You really love beating things to death, don't you? Obviously I would never cheat on you. We both know that."

Penny sat up, taking the sheet with her. "Come on, I'm just kidding. What's the big deal? We joke about stuff all the time."

"Yeah, maybe, but I don't like joking about this. You mean everything to me, Penny. It hurts that you would even think I'm capable of cheating on you. So let's stop 'joking around' about Mandy. It's not funny."

_That's a lot to live up to,_ Penny thought, and not for the first time. Leonard was always putting her on a pedestal, and it was impossible to live up to all his hopes and dreams for their future.

"Okay, fine," she said. "Whatever."

Leonard sighed. "Don't be like that, you know I hate that! I mean, what if I started 'teasing you' about Sheldon? You two looked awfully comfortable together when Amy and I walked in today."

Penny chuckled uncomfortably. "Really? That's a little ridiculous, don't you think?"

"Of course it is! Mandy and I were just friends. You and Sheldon are just friends. It sucks to have a harmless relationship be compared with something it's not, right? It sucks a lot."

This whole conversation was making Penny immensely uncomfortable but she couldn't put her finger on why. Maybe it was because Leonard had no right to judge her relationship with Sheldon. He couldn't possibly understand what had grown between them during the summer. Even Penny had a hard time understanding it. It was innocent, but yet it wasn't. She had nothing to feel guilty about, and yet she did. This was getting way too hard. Penny decided to back down. It wasn't worth it.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I'm sure Mandy is a great person, but she doesn't have my rack," she said, and Leonard grinned.

"That's the spirit," he said, and then they were kissing, and the moment was forgotten for at least a few minutes. And that, in a nutshell, was how their relationship had worked from the beginning.

* * *

Sheldon was at Amy's apartment. She was playing the harp and he was trying his hardest to sit still and listen to her play the harp. It was important to her. And if he had learned anything from their three-year relationship, it was that he had to be attentive to the things that were important to Amy. It was sometimes quite a chore, but if anything, he would be the boyfriend she deserved, at least someday. It was nights like these when he found himself wondering if it was worth it. If he really wanted to be with Amy. He was pretty sure the answer was still yes. She was a good girlfriend and they would have a bright future together. And besides, if he broke up with her, what would he do then? Just find another girlfriend? He was convinced there was no other woman in the world who could deal with his brand of intimacy, for one thing. The whole charade was exhausting to think about.

Amy finished playing Living on a Prayer on her harp and Sheldon smiled and applauded, which made Amy supremely happy. She rewarded him with spaghetti and cut up hot dogs. While he always enjoyed eating this delightful dish, it always tasted better when Penny made it for him. Obviously he would never tell Amy that. She would rip his face off and feed it to her monkeys.

"So are you happy Leonard's back?" Amy asked between forkfuls of spaghetti.

Sheldon nodded and took a sip of milk. "Yes, it is nice having his companionship again. He also seems happy to be home. I've had to stop him in mid-whistle quite a few times. You would think he'd remember that whistling is expressly forbidden."

"I guess he's just happy to be back with Penny," Amy said. "I mean, who wouldn't be?"

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Sheldon said, nodding. A week had passed since Leonard's return, and Penny seemed happy enough, although there was something different about, well, everything. She was content but not overly so. Sheldon wondered if she was sad about something; he could almost see it in her eyes. Oh, it was so much easier when Sheldon didn't know each and every emotion she had at every moment she had it.

Penny wasn't the only one who seemed a bit off. Something about Leonard changed, too. He seemed a bit more confident, for some reason. He didn't look like he needed quite so much validation from his friends and peers. This was obviously a good thing, but it seemed to change the dynamic of Penny and Leonard's relationship. Again, Sheldon would not have noticed this subtle shift in the atmosphere before the summer, before he spent so much time with someone who understood these things a lot better than he did.

They moved on to dessert and Sheldon encouraged Amy to talk about her newest project, which he was actually interested in hearing about. Her work on SALL4 had kept her busy during the summer and they hadn't seen much of each other lately, and Sheldon was fascinated by how much spending less time together seemed to make him enjoy their actual gatherings that much more. It was weird, but he felt like he might actually be getting the hang of this relationship thing. Or…maybe not.

"Sheldon, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about lately that's been bothering me somewhat," Amy said carefully.

"Is it the way that picture of you and Penny is hanging a bit off-center on the wall? Oh, good, it's been bothering me, too."

Amy sighed. "No, that's not it. But I will fix it soon, I promise. No, I was wondering…you told me a few months ago that you have not ruled out, well, intimacy between us. As you know, my birthday is coming up soon and I would like to celebrate with you. Honestly, I do not want to be in my mid-thirties without having experienced, ahem, certain intimate activities. So therefore, I'd like you to think about at least going to first base, which is including but not limited to kissing."

"Well, Amy, I don't know if an ultimatum—"

"Now, don't dismiss me right away, Sheldon. I would just like you to_ think_ about it. We've been together for quite a long time, we are very compatible in all other areas besides this one, and I think it's time for you to at least try. It can be like an experiment for you. I promise, it won't be as terrible as you are worried it might be."

Sheldon knew that this was going to happen sooner or later, and he still didn't have a proper reply. Of course being intimate with Amy wouldn't be terrible, it would probably be…nice. And at this point in his life, he wasn't even sure what was holding him back.

"I'll think about it, and that's all I can promise for now," Sheldon said quietly.

"That's all I ask. But I have to say, I think I deserve it, I've waited a long time," Amy said resolutely. "And if you are not capable of giving me this one thing, I might…well, I might have to move on with my life. I have very deep feelings for you, Sheldon, but I can't wait forever."

"Fair enough," Sheldon said, which didn't seem to be the response Amy was wanting, but she forced a smile and they continued eating dessert. Everything was fine for the moment, but Sheldon knew it wouldn't always be, and he was going to have to start making some hard decisions.

**AFTER**

Amy, Sheldon and Penny were playing an exciting game of Monopoly (which somehow Sheldon always won) when Leonard came practically skipping through the door.

"Guess what!" Leonard said excitedly.

"Let's see, did you encounter an alien in the hall, who promised you eternal life if you just—"

"Sheldon, hush," Penny said. "We all know that could go on forever. What do you want to tell us?"

"I'm being honored at the university for my trip this summer. Stephen Hawking's going to be there and everything! Anyway, it's going to be a big ceremony and I want you all to come."

"Oh, my gosh! I'm so happy for you!" Penny said. She gave him a big kiss and he grinned.

"Yes, Leonard, I do have to admit that's a nice honor to receive," Sheldon said, not even looking jealous in the slightest.

"And I have nothing to wear! I'm so going to have to go shopping," Penny said. She loved any excuse to shop.

"Oh, me, too! It can be a besties trip to the mall," Amy said. "And we can get manicures! And pedicures! And bikini waxes!"

Penny chuckled. "Sure, we can do all that." Penny appreciated her friend's enthusiasm for the girlier things in life. She knew it was a recent development.

"I could use a new suit for the event," Leonard said. "Maybe we could make it an outing." They all glanced at Sheldon, who was looking at something on his phone. Without looking up, Sheldon muttered, "Well, don't look at me. I already have a suit. Enjoy your plunder of material goods."

Amy sighed. "Come on, Sheldon! Normal boyfriends come with their girlfriends to the mall. Just this one time, please?"

Sheldon looked perturbed. "Amy, while I do want to be a 'good boyfriend,' are you sure you want to use your one monthly 'begging and pleading' coupon on a trip to the mall?"

"Yes!" Amy said excitedly. Penny shook her head. Their relationship was so…weird. Cute and adorable and functional, but weird. In a way, Penny admired what Amy and Sheldon had. It wasn't based on lust and alcohol and proximity (which was basically what she and Leonard were all about, at least in the beginning), but knowledge and intelligence and shared appreciation for warm beverages. Penny didn't know how to be in a relationship without intimacy, though. She had no idea how Amy dealt with it.

"Fine, but you have to take me to the comic book store and the fancy train store in LA on Saturday."

"Deal," Amy said, and the trip was settled. A few hours later, all four of them were at the mall, on a mission to shop for Leonard's exciting event.

After Penny insisted they all get a pretzel (she loved her some Auntie Anne's), they headed to the department store for all their individual needs. "Oh, I need to find some underwear," Leonard said, and went off in search for it. Amy trailed off after him, saying, "I need some, too. Men's underwear just fits me better." This left Sheldon and Penny by themselves, and she directed him to the men's suits.

"Penny, I already told you, I have a perfectly adequate suit already. You know. You were there."

Penny sighed. "Yes, that's true. I'll let you get away with it this time. Can we at least get you a new tie?" What she didn't add was how damn good he looked in that suit of his. She still remembered the day they found it. It was the first time she realized what a handsome man he was. So handsome it actually rendered her speechless, and not much was capable of doing that.

"I suppose," Sheldon said. "But don't you need a new dress? Even though you have approximately 42 of them in your closet."

Penny didn't even want to know how he knew that exact figure. "Yeah, I do. Come on, you can help me try them on."

"Oh, goody," Sheldon said, and Penny laughed. She loved it when he was successfully sarcastic.

She dragged him to the women's department and started rifling through dresses. "I've got to find a really good one," she muttered as she went through countless dresses on the racks.

"Why? It's not your event," Sheldon said, looking bored.

"No, it's my man's event. I want Leonard to look good on his night, and for that, I have to look good, too."

"Forgive me, Penny, but that doesn't sound like a very feminist approach to relationships," Sheldon said. For some reason, this both annoyed and hurt Penny.

"Well, I never claimed to be a feminist, Sheldon. AND I don't think it's _not_ feminist to want to look good for myself and my boyfriend. I mean, what's the big deal? Every woman has the right to feel good about herself."

Sheldon didn't answer. Penny kept looking through the dresses, annoyance starting to build. Finally she found the perfect red dress. It showed just the right amount of what she wanted to display. "Stay here," she told Sheldon, and went in the dressing room to try it on. Even in the harsh light of the room, the dress looked perfect. It was a bit pricey, but she had to have it. This dress was going to turn heads, and she couldn't wait.

* * *

"Sheldon!" Penny shout-whispered. Sheldon was staring at the ceiling, memorizing the number of tiles, and Penny made him lose count. "Come here! I have to show someone this dress."

A man's work was never done. Sheldon made his way over to the dressing room, and stopped short when he saw Penny outside the door. Even if he did pride himself on not (usually) feeling or even knowing any kind of lust; even though he'd never truly been attracted to most of the females he'd ever known, even though science and logic were the only things (besides his mom, sister and meemaw, of course) he'd ever expressed love for, and even though he had a girlfriend, Sheldon was overwhelmed at that moment by Penny's beauty. The dress was short and exposed her long, tanned legs, and her lean arms and bare shoulders. Her long blonde hair was a perfect way to offset the tones of the dress, and the effect was stunning. She looked like a Greek goddess, and Sheldon was captivated. He had no idea what to say or do.

"Wow," Penny said softly. "I guess it looks okay then, huh?"

Sheldon just nodded. And that's when Leonard and Amy decided to rejoin the group.

"I got the perfect pair of underwear! They're blue with white stripes…" Amy trailed off as she saw the way her boyfriend was looking at Penny. The look in his eyes was completely unmistakable, and it was at that moment that Amy knew there was something going on. Maybe it was unspoken, maybe not. But something was not right about this. It must have been confusing for her; Sheldon never, _ever_ looked at her like that, and she didn't even think he was capable of looking at anyone like…that. Amy looked over at Leonard to see if he saw the same thing she did, but he was looking at Penny and her dress like it was the answer to all of life's problems.

"Wow, Penny. I mean…that's just…I can't." Leonard couldn't even finish his sentence.

"It's good, right? I'm going to buy it."

"Good for me! Bad for every other man at this event who doesn't get to go home with you."

"Well, you're kind of biased, but thank you," she said, and kissed him on the cheek.

"Sheldon, doesn't she look amazing?" Leonard asked, not taking his eyes off Penny. "Oh, look who I'm asking. I might as well as that cardboard cut-out over there. Amy, doesn't she look amazing?"

"Like a movie star from the forties or something," Amy said, nodding. Sheldon was silent, since nobody apparently thought he was capable of having an opinion on the matter. It was probably better that way.

* * *

A few nights later was Leonard's celebration, and it was a night to remember. Penny truly had an amazing time, and so did everyone else. Leonard made a great speech and Penny got to shake Stephen Hawking's hand. Howard and Bernadette and Raj and his date came as well, and they all danced and drank and laughed and it was more fun than anyone expected.

After a few glasses of wine, Leonard and Penny were dancing close and whispering naughty things in each other's ear, when Amy tapped Penny on the shoulder. "Do you mind if I cut in? I'm so proud of you, Leonard, and I wanted to dance with the man of the hour."

"Of course," Penny said. "Have at him."

Penny stepped aside and smiled as Leonard and Amy danced swiftly across the floor. They looked cute together. As she pondered getting just one more glass of wine and resting her feet, she felt another tap on the shoulder. She was happy to see it was Sheldon, looking dapper as ever.

"May I have this dance? My partner has apparently abandoned me." Sheldon asked. Penny nodded, and took his hand. They'd never danced together before, but they were both naturals. They didn't even speak or acknowledge how weird this felt; how right it felt. Finally, before the song ended, Sheldon said, "I've been meaning to tell you, Penny, you look absolutely stunning this evening. Red is your color, as people more fashionable than I would say."

Penny tried to hide her shock. Sheldon was paying her a compliment? Were they in a parallel universe? He could be so sweet sometimes, her Sheldon.

"Thank you, sweetie. That means a lot to me. And I would also like to say that you look very handsome in your suit, as usual. Any woman would be proud to dance with you."

Sheldon…well, he didn't smile, but the corners of his mouth did flutter a bit. It looked like he was going to say something else, maybe something profound, but at that moment the song ended and Amy and Leonard came back to claim their respective partners.

It was just another moment in a long series of moments. Sooner or later, the things left unsaid and the unresolved tension in the air when they were together, it would either explode or fade away. One of those options was going to need to happen soon, or the moments would be lost forever.


End file.
